


The Sound of Red

by monsterslut13



Series: Rewind [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Feels, M/M, NO character deaths, Promise, Scott and Cora are totally space siblings, Scott is default Scott cause the customization sucks, Scott needs to pay attention to his surroundings, Writer sucks at fight scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 11:40:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16912215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monsterslut13/pseuds/monsterslut13
Summary: As a child, red was always his favorite colour. It's the colour of autumn, of passion, danger and love. Now it's just the colour of blood...his blood. Scott would do anything for his family...





	The Sound of Red

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno where this came from but it definitely takes place after chapter four of Point of No Return. I was feeling the need for some feels...my internet muse did not appreciate the gesture ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> I do not own Mass Effect or anything affiliated with it, I'm just playing in their cubby house
> 
> {and I clearly have no beta so all mistakes are my own}

Out of all the planets they’d surveyed and traveled on in the Heleus Cluster, Havarl was definitely Scott’s favorite. He’d traveled through some pretty tough jungles in his time but there was something about the ancestral planet of the Angara that called to him. It was beautiful in its deadliness even with the vault active. The crew of the Tempest found it hilarious when they landed on the planet, Scott was always eager to explore as much as the Angara would allow them to. 

 

Jungles held a special kind of memory for him, it lead back to the one and only holiday the Ryder family ever had back on Earth. There was so precious few stretches of jungle left on the planet, what there was happened to be ridiculously protected and closed to the public. How lucky the twins were to have Alec Ryder for a father. For two weeks they spent their time in this little cabin by a naturally occurring lake with just the four of them. The memory made Scott smile, luckily he had the photos stored in his omni-tool. 

 

“Someone’s grinning like an idiot,” Cora pointed out, stepping up beside the Pathfinder in her Initiative blue and white armour. “Whatcha thinking about Scott?” There was a teasing, playful tone to her voice, it was nice to hear it even after the situation with Sarissa. Sara was awake from her coma but still on the Nexus healing in the med-bay but even with his sister awake, Cora filled the position of surrogate big sister pretty well. 

 

“Holiday pack on Earth with my parents,” Scott answered absently. He sighed mournfully and put his helmet on, watching as the view screen came to life. “Sara pushed me off a cliff into the lake near where we were staying.” It was nothing like Habitat Seven where the shuttle had exploded and he'd fallen  _ all _ the way down...and contrary to popular belief, he  _ did not _ scream the entire way down. “That time I did scream the whole way down.” He heard Gil chuckle over the comms and felt himself grinning like an idiot. 

 

“So what's the game plan kid?” Drack huffed behind him, drawing Scott's attention back to more serious, Pathfinder business. 

 

“Okay, Kallo brought it to my attention a message from an anonymous source about the capture of Ark Paarchero not being an accident,” Scott answered, his tone shifting more seriously. Peebee called it his Pathfinder Voice. “Since Jaal’s here to collect sensitive resistance intel, I told Kallo I’d check it out.” Both he and Kallo had come to the conclusion that the whole thing was a big joke, but a tiny part of Scott actually wanted to see what the mysterious messenger had to say. 

 

“Where’s this meeting supposed to take place?” Cora questioned, watching as Scott transmitted the information to the both of them through their omni-tools. “This could be a set up. The Roekaar control that part of Havarl...well what’s left of them anyway.” She arched an eyebrow, pretty much having pegged Scott’s reason why he was doing this when Jaal was otherwise occupied. “Jaal won’t be happy.”

 

Scott sighed deeply, he knew Jaal would be a little ticked that he was heading straight through Roekaar territory. “I’ll talk to him when we get back to the  _ Tempest _ .” Their relationships was two months on and whilst a lot of people accepted the match between the pair, the Roekaar were not one of them. The death threats SAM filtered for him and the ones that the Nexus happened to get on a daily basis were astounding. “But no, I’m not doing this to sneak around Jaal’s back. So thanks for the concern.”  _ He wanted to protect him _ . “If there really was an internal threat to the Paarchero, we need to know about it. Raeka deserves that much.” He was still torn up about the choice he was forced to make, at least the Salarian’s didn’t hold it against him. 

 

Drack and Cora were given little choice but to follow their Pathfinder when he stepped off the beaten path. “Hey kid, been meaning to ask you if you’d come to the Vortex next time we’re at the Nexus. Vorn and Kesh wanna express their thanks for your help in gettin’ the vault back. And show you how to how to play Fire-Breathing Thresher Maws of Doom.”

 

“Ain’t nothing to say thanks about,” Scott shrugged absently, the Pathfinder leading the small group through the thick brush. They'd been quiet for the last hour. It was nice to hear someone speak over the silence of nature once every now and then. “But I’m always happy to learn a Krogan game or two. And test out SAM’s ability to keep me drunk. Hey SAM you think you can help me outdrink Drack?” 

 

“ _ Pathfinder, that is not my primary function. _ ” 

 

Scott sniggered earning a smile from Cora and an outright laugh from Drack. “I know it’s not but I put you through your paces on Kadara last month with Reyes. I figure we could test it with a Krogan.”

 

“I like that plan!” Drack chuckled. 

 

“ _ I do not. _ ” He could have sworn SAM was pouting. The AI had come so far along in the time they’d been together. “ _ I find myself questioning your friendship with Reyes Vidal if getting drunk is all you have to show for it. _ ”

 

“Sure dad thanks,” Scott teased. He was pretty sure all of his crew were questioning that relationship along with him. Reyes was charming, suave and he flirted like it was an Olympic event, before Jaal it definitely would have worked. His weakness for the bad boy was something that Sara loathed. Now that a romantic relationship was off the cards, the two of them had fallen into a friendship that was a bad idea. Something could have happened between the two of them if the relic and the events in the Archon's ship hadn't have happened first. There had been flirting….definite flirting between the Pathfinder and the King of Kadara. He was about to open his mouth but stopped in his tracks, movement to the left of him catching his attention. “We got contact a few clicks west.” 

 

“I see it,” Cora advised, assault rifle appearing in hand. “Pathfinder?” 

 

“Spread out,” Scott ordered. “I wanna be able to see you but not touch you.” He gripped his assault rifle and moved forward through the thick foliage. The Pathfinder’s internal alarm system burst to life a split second later as bullets tore through the trees. His biotics responded, wrapping a shield around him, deflecting the bullets as he took cover. “Contact! It's the Roekaar. Of course it's the fucking Roekaar.” With Akksul gone the fanatical organisation should have gone underground but sometimes the wounded wolf is the most deadly prey. 

 

Scott checked his ammo and launched himself over the rock he was using as cover, shooting the Angaran soldiers before landing in a burst of biotic power. The Roekaar agents flew in every direction possible, the notion of biotics was still strange to everyone in Andromeda. He dodged bullet fire, rolling his eyes at the sound of Drack's quips over the coms. Iver a thousand years old and the Krogan had a knack of sounding like he was a kid playing some kind of online war game. “Think you could sound a little less excited there big guy?” 

 

“What’s the human saying? Like shooting fish in a barrel?” Drack threw a grenade through the air and watched as it exploded, taking out the Roekaar from their hiding place. 

 

“ _ Pathfinder, it appears that Cora could use your assistance. _ ” 

 

He spun around, scowling as bluish-purple energy swarmed around him bursting to life at the sight of Cora knocked to the ground. Scott charged forward like a bull and slammed into the Angaran, sending him flying away from Cora before hitting another with the butt of his rifle. The Pathfinder held his hand out to the huntress, helping her to her feet. “You good?”

 

Cora nodded. “Yeah, thanks Pathfinder.” She snatched her assault rifle up off the ground and scanned around to look for anyone left standing. 

 

“ _ Ryder watch out! _ ” a voice shouted right before a sharp, burning pain entered Scott’s body. He barely had a second or two to register what the fuck just happened before the Roekaar agent ripped the knife out of his body, a sickening smirk on his face. His head exploded in a blue hue of bone and blood as Scott’s brain automatically went haywire. The Pathfinder looked down, time going by at a snail’s pace as he watched blood pour out between the gaps in his armor where the knife had been moments ago. Scott dropped his weapon and grunted when the pain bulldozed over him, shit he had to stop the bleeding...take the armor off? Don’t take it off? 

 

“SAM!” he rasped as the ground suddenly rushed up to meet him. It felt like he'd been slapped and thrown into an icy lake all at the same time, all the warmth flooded out of Scott's body as if there was never any there to begin with. 

 

“Kallo, we need an evac now,” Cora yelled over the comms. “Get Lexi to prep the med-bay. The Pathfinder’s been stabbed. SAM, can you do anything to help Scott?”

 

“ _ I am working on stemming the flow of blood but the tip of the blade has perforated his small intestines. The Pathfinder will not make it back to the Tempest in this condition. _ ” 

 

“ _ We'll come to you _ ,” Kallo's voice sang through the panic. “ _ Doctor T'Perro is prepping the med-bay for your arrival. _ ” 

 

“ _ Don't take his armor off! _ ” Lexi all but barked through the radio. “ _ It'll be putting pressure over the wound. I'm getting SAM's readings now. _ ” 

 

“ _ Drack pick him up, we gotta find a clearing big enough for Kallo to land in! _ ” Cora ordered. Her voice was fuzzy, almost as if she was underwater…is this what his father felt like when he was dying on Habitat Seven? 

 

As a child, red was always his favorite colour. It’s the colour of autumn, of passion, danger and love. Now it's just the colour of blood...his blood.

 

_ I'm sorry Sara… _

 

* * *

 

Jaal couldn't pick what it was exactly but the moment he boarded the  _ Tempest _ he knew something was wrong. The atmosphere was thick, heavy with anxiety, the ship even felt colder than usual...something was seriously wrong. Nothing felt at all normal and the look on Gil's face as he worked on the Nomad in the hanger bay was like its own kick in the gut. “Gil, is something the matter?” 

 

It was as if the mechanic wasn't aware of anything but the task at hand. Gil startled when Jaal spoke to him, jumping and cringing at the same time whilst he tried to catch his bearings. “Shit Jaal, you scared the life out of me. You weren't supposed to be back for another couple hours.” Gil threw down the wrench in his hand, he was nervous as all hell to be honest. “Suppose you better talk with Cora and Drack. They were with him.” 

 

The Angaran's heart sank in his chest.  _ They were with him...something's happened to Scott!  _ Jaal considered himself a fairly level-headed male, as a member of the resistance, it never did any good to lose his temper but hearing that something had happened when he wasn't there hurt like a deep physical wound. “Gil what happened to Scott?!” he demanded to know, losing nearly all his composure. He grabbed Gil's shoulders as carefully as he could in that moment to wait for an answer. 

 

“Look, I wasn't there mate, but he got stabbed by some lucky Roekaar,” Gil answered. “Been down here doing repairs on the Nomad whilst Lexi's working on him. It was a few hours ago now.” Just his luck to be there when Jaal got back, he didn't count on having to tell him that his Pathfinder boyfriend had been stabbed. “Cora and Drack are in the vid-con room if you wanna go see them. Cora's….pretty torn up about it.” 

 

The pain flashed obviously across Jaal's face, his features twisting in pain upon hearing that someone had been able to nearly kill him. Of course Scott faced danger every day but… _ he wasn't with him.  _ Jaal hadn't been there. 

 

“ _ It was not Cora's fault. These things happen with little control over the outcome of events. _ ” 

 

“SAM!” Jaal sighed in relief to hear the AI's voice. “How is Scott?” He let Gil go and rushed through the ship to find Cora and the Krogan. 

 

“ _ As well as can be expected, _ ” SAM answered truthfully. “ _ He is in Doctor T'Perro's capable hands and has been for nearly four hours. Doctor T'Perro is an expert on human anatomy among other things. By my calculations, the Pathfinder should be out of surgery in the next hour. _ ” 

 

“Thank you SAM.” Jaal slowed considerably as he came up the ramp to the vid-con room. Cora was sitting on one of the seats along the walls with her datapad in hand working away furiously on something, and Drack was talking in low, hushed tones to someone on his omni-tool. Jaal's guess was it had to be Kesh, the two Krogan's were incredibly fond of the Pathfinder. What struck Jaal the most was the red that stained both warrior's armour, the red of human blood…Scott's blood. 

 

Cora stopped mid-movement and glanced up at Jaal, the look on her face said that she was very prepared for some kind of verbal assault. He walked over and sat down beside the huntress. “Scott would not want you to blame yourself Cora.” 

 

And that was the truth. Their leader always went out of his way to help people without asking for anything in return. He’d gone along with Jaal to save his siblings from Akksul, he’d travelled all over Eos just to put up a memorial for someone on the Nexus...and that was just the start of the kind heart that beat underneath that modified N7 armor. 

 

“Lexi said it ain’t gonna kill him,” Drack cut in. “Kid’s tough. He’ll be terrorizing us all with the Nomad tearing through Elaaden and Voeld before you know it. Don’t cut your losses just yet.” He clapped Jaal roughly on the shoulder. “He may be human and squishy but he's not gonna let some little stick bring him down. Scott Ryder is made from tougher shit. Kid should have been a Krogan.” He trampled with all the fines of a Krogan ballet dancer griping about getting the red out of his armor. 

 

_ Scott's favorite colour was red… _

 

* * *

 

He woke with a mouth full of cotton and a mind thick with fog. His entire body felt numb, almost as if Scott wasn't in charge of his own faculties anymore and he was just a bystander looking in. He tried to speak but the words stuck in the back of his throat, choking him. Scott started coughing and gasping for air, alerting the occupants of the room that he was awake in between the shrill alarms that represented his panicky vital signs. 

 

“Scott, it's okay you're on the  _ Tempest _ in the med-bay.” Lexi appeared in his vision and the Asari was surprisingly strong as she tried to stop Scott from ripping out the drip in his arm. “SAM if Jaal's asleep wake him up and let him know Scott's awake.” The doctor took his hands and gently set them by his side, she’d promised Jaal before sending him off to bed to let him know when Scott eventually woke up. 

 

“What...happened?” Scott rasped. He licked his lips, they were dry like his throat...god he needed a drink. “Water...Lexi please?” The lights in the med-bay were bright, they were hurting his eyes, making him squint and blink rapidly. He hated hospitals...hated them with a passion...med-bays were no exception. 

 

Lexi brought a cup over and dropped some ice chips into his mouth. “This is all you get for now Scott. Liquids only for a couple of days. We’re on our way back to the Nexus.” She sat the cup aside and immediately dimmed the lights. “You were stabbed Scott. The knife perforated your small intestine, you were lucky there wasn’t more damage.”

 

Scott blinked as he tried to remember the firefight on Havarl. “C-Cora? She’s okay?” he asked, seeing his second on the ground, the image flashing in his mind. He started to feel his heart rapidly beating in his chest, setting off the alarms again. Scott scrambled to get up, he  _ had _ to make sure Cora was okay.

 

“Ryder you’re going to hurt yourself!” Lexi spoke calmly. “SAM, can you-”

 

“Scott you shouldn’t be fighting the doctor’s orders,” Jaal half scolded, half panicked upon seeing him struggling to get out of bed. He appeared like a painkiller induced mirage only one Scott could touch the moment his lover took his hand. “Lieutenant Harper is currently in the middle of a conference call. I saw her on the way from the the tech lab.”

 

“The tech lab?” Scott frowned. His brain was a foggy mess, whatever Lexi had him on was working wonders. Most days Jaal ended up sleeping with him in the Pathfinder’s quarters, he found it easier to sleep with someone by his side. Truthfully, they both did. He lay back in the bed much to Lexi’s relief and closed his eyes, all the movement had made him incredibly tired. “Guess I’m gonna live?” Jaal was here...the Angaran's presence was soothing...just what he needed right now. Like a beacon in the fog that was his mind. 

 

“You were lucky,” Lexi answered, voicing her opinion curtly. “Another few inches to the right and you’d be in much worse shape than you are now. I managed to stitch the wound before you lost too much blood, but Scott it will take time to heal. Time you have to allow yourself. We have three other Pathfinder’s out there that can help. You’re off duty until I say otherwise.”

 

He knew better than to argue with Lexi. “Can I at least go back to my quarters?” Scott asked her. He wasn’t above begging, no sir he was not. His bed was much, much more suitable than a bed in the med-bay. “Promise I’ll play the good patient.”

 

“You’re such a liar Scott Ryder,” the good doctor huffed incredulously. She had seen his medical records, read all the notes from various doctor’s over his years of service. Scott was twenty-five and had  _ Uncooperative Patient _ stamped all over the place, even Harry bristled over how much of a child he could be when confined for medical reasons. “Not even Sara could make you keep that promise.” Lexi suspected why Scott disliked hospital environments but she didn't want to say anything.

 

“I am sure I can.” Jaal looked so confident, so damn determined that Lexi found it hard to say no to him. He found small moments of joy when it came to being able to get Scott to do things that no one else could. Scott was a stubborn, articulated mess but he always did something when Jaal was concerned about him. “I have some experience with being a caretaker and I have been reading your notes on human physiology. If there is any problem with Scott’s wounds, SAM can call for help.”

 

“I’m literally down the hall Lexi,” Scott added. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows but eventually gave up when Jaal decided to help him sit. “Thank you.”

 

Lexi pressed her lips together and picked up her datapad. “Fine. You can return to your quarters but no funny business.” She held back a laugh at the red that flooded Scott’s features. “I know you don’t exactly have the energy for it Scott but I want you to be careful. And SAM will be making sure that you are.” She glanced quickly at the time and down at her omni-tool when it pinged to life. “It’s Cora. Normally I would argue against such stimulation so close after waking up but I think tiring you out might be a good thing. I’m just over here if you need me.”

 

Scott watched the doors slid open and smiled bashfully at Cora as she hovered in the doorway. He’d only ever seen the former huntress upset once before and that was when they discovered Sarissa’s betrayal of Matriarch Ishara. “You know I’ll never blame you okay?” he told her straight out. “You’re practically family at this point Cora.” Scott patted the bed and smiled when the blonde came over. 

 

“You got yourself hurt looking out for me. I got distracted,” Cora argued. She opened her mouth to speak but a single glare from Scott stopped her, goddess he looked like his father when he did that. It wasn’t a Pathfinder glare, it was a Ryder glare, even Sara had the same look when she expected you to listen. “You’re the Pathfinder-”

 

“Cora the crew is more than just a crew,” Scott cut her off. “The  _ Tempest _ is my home...the crew is my family. You’re family to me,” he smiled weakly. He reached out and took hand to give it a small squeeze before slumping backwards into the bed with Jaal’s help. “I didn't do anything I wouldn't do for anyone on this ship. Next time  _ I _ need to keep aware of my surroundings. I got stabbed and it was entirely my fault.” His baby blue eyes flickered closed as his breathing started to become shallow, he was struggling to stay awake. “S'not your fault Cora. I'd get stabbed for all of you.” That didn't come out the way he wanted it to bit the sentiment was there. He tightened his grip weakly on Jaal's hand before bringing it to his cheek for comfort. “I'm okay…” He didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or Cora and Jaal. 

 

“You're tired  _ taoshay _ ,” Jaal breathed. He lightly stroked his hand along Scott's cheek, moving to his hair. Human hair fascinated him, it was so soft and oddly expressive, right now Scott's usually vibrant brunette locks were springy and had a life of its own. Now it just looked sick. “Perhaps your plea to leave the medi-bay is ill-advised.” 

 

“ _ I concur. Pathfinder, you should stay here for a while longer. _ ” 

 

Scott shook his head, panic setting in. He looked up at Jaal, eyes full of unshed tears. “It reminds me of mum. Please don't make me stay here.” 

 

Jaal paused, Scott never spoke of his mother and even less so about his father. He knew parts but not all of it, just that both his parents were dead and Sara had just come out of a coma. “Cora…would you mind if Scott and I were to talk privately?” 

 

“Yeah of course Jaal,” Cora smiled sadly. She rubbed Scott's shoulder affectionately. “Thank you Scott.” The former huntress made her way over to Lexi for a quiet chat where she was working away. 

 

“You never speak about your mother,” Jaal pointed out, running his fingers gently through Scott's hair. “Would you tell me about her sometime?” 

 

Scott closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah...I can tell you about her Jaal. Her name was Ellen Ryder and she was the best mum in the whole universe…”


End file.
